For Cleveland Cavaliers guard Darius Garland, Games 6 and 7 of the Cavaliers’ first-round series against the Orlando Magic were 96 minutes from hell.
Despite a strong offensive performance in Friday’s Game 6, a late eight-second violation by Garland helped seal Cleveland’s fate in a 103-96 defeat. In Game 7 on Sunday, he struggled mightily, making just three of his 13 field goal attempts.
However, Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell refused to quit on his backcourt mate as Cleveland iced its eventual 106-94 win. Behind-the-scenes video from the game showed one Cavaliers All-Star encouraging another.
“I believe in you. Believe in yourself,” Mitchell told Garland in video posted on social media by Cleveland. “Believe in yourself. I believe in you, we believe in you.”
Garland believed just enough to knock down a three-pointer, a two-pointer and three free throws as the Cavaliers outscored the Magic in the fourth quarter 30-26.
With the win, Cleveland advanced to the Eastern Conference semifinals, where it will meet the Boston Celtics.
When Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic walks on to a basketball court, he immediately becomes a threat to put up a triple-double.
In six years in the NBA, Doncic has been nothing short of a triple-double machine. He is already tied for eighth all-time in that category with 77—18 more than Hall of Fame forward Larry Bird, and 49 more than Hall of Fame guard Michael Jordan.
As he makes his NBA Finals debut, it's worth looking back at the history of players reaching double figures in three of basketball's five major counting statistics (points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks) on the sport's biggest stage.
A triple-double, in basketball, is when a player hits three of the following statistical benchmarks in a single game: 10 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists, 10 blocks or 10 steals. Hitting two is a more common double-double, while hitting four is an extraordinarily rare quadruple-double.
The NBA record for most career triple-doubles is held by Los Angeles Clippers guard Russell Westbrook with 199.
Since the advent of the NBA Finals, 23 players are known to have accomplished the feat, per StatMuse.
PLAYER
NUMBER OF TRIPLE-DOUBLES
LeBron James, Heat/Cavaliers/Lakers
11
Magic Johnson, Lakers
8
Draymond Green, Warriors
3
Larry Bird, Celtics
2
Jimmy Butler, Heat
2
Wilt Chamberlain, 76ers
2
Bob Cousy, Celtics
2
Walt Frazier, Knicks
2
NIkola Jokić, Nuggets
2
Bill Russell, Celtics
2
Charles Barkley, Suns
1
Elgin Baylor, Lakers
1
Dave Cowens, Celtics
1
Stephen Curry, Warriors
1
Tim Duncan, Spurs
1
Kevin Durant, Warriors
1
Jason Kidd, Nets
1
Jamal Murray, Nuggets
1
Scottie Pippen, Bulls
1
Rajon Rondo, Celtics
1
Wes Unseld, Bullets
1
Jerry West, Lakers
1
James Worthy, Lakers
1
Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James, with 11. James is the only player to accomplish the feat with three different teams, having registered triple-doubles with the Miami Heat, Cleveland Cavaliers and Lakers. He is also one of three players, along with ex-Los Angeles guard Jerry West and forward James Worthy, to record a triple-double in Game 7 of the Finals.
James spread his triple-doubles out, too: he recorded one in his much-maligned 2011 Finals, one in the 2012 Finals, two in the 2013 Finals, two in the 2015 Finals, one in Game 7 of the 2016 Finals, two in the 2017 Finals, one in the 2018 Finals, and one in the 2020 Finals.
The 2024 NBA Finals tip off on Thursday night, as the Boston Celtics look to add an 11th Larry O'Brien Trophy to their trophy case, while the Dallas Mavericks look to secure the franchise's second-ever NBA title.
For viewing purposes, getting the opportunity to see a seven-game series between the Celtics and Mavericks would be wildly entertaining. It's somewhat uncommon for an NBA Finals series to go the full seven games, however. Throughout history, the NBA Finals has gone the full distance of seven games only 19 times.
Most recently, the 2016 NBA Finals between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors was decided in seven games, but the past seven championships have been decided quicker than that.
Here's a look at every NBA Finals series that has gone seven games:
YEAR
MATCHUP
1951
Rochester Royals def. New York Knicks
1952
Minneapolis Lakers def. New York Knicks
1954
Minneapolis Lakers def. Syracuse Nationals
1955
Syracuse Nationals def. Fort Wayne Pistons
1957
Boston Celtics def. St. Louis Hawks
1960
Boston Celtics def. St. Louis Hawks
1962
Boston Celtics def. Los Angeles Lakers
1966
Boston Celtics def. Los Angeles Lakers
1969
Boston Celtics def. Los Angeles Lakers
1970
New York Knicks def. Los Angeles Lakers
1974
Boston Celtics def. Milwaukee Bucks
1978
Washington Bullets def. Seattle Supersonics
1984
Boston Celtics def. Los Angeles Lakers
1988
Los Angeles Lakers def. Detroit Pistons
1994
Houston Rockets def. New York Knicks
2005
San Antonio Spurs def. Detroit Pistons
2010
Los Angeles Lakers def. Boston Celtics
2013
Miami Heat def. San Antonio Spurs
2016
Cleveland Cavaliers def. Golden State Warriors
Game 7's have been few and far between in recent history. Since 1995, only four NBA Finals series have reached the coveted seventh game.
Of course, those that have gone the distance have resulted in some iconic moments, including the Cavaliers becoming the first team in league history to overcome a 3–1 deficit in the Finals in '16 against the Warriors.
Of the 19 Game 7's in NBA Finals history, only two have gone to overtime, and none since 1962 when the Celtics took down the Lakers.
Though six games, Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero's first playoff series has been a rousing success.
The numbers tell all: in three Magic wins and three Cleveland Cavaliers wins in the first round, Banchero has averaged 25.2 points, 7.2 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game. His play has Orlando on the cusp of its first playoff series victory since 2010.
In the first half of Game 7 Sunday, however, Banchero went to another level. The Duke product exploded for 24 points against the Cavaliers—the most by a player 21 or younger in a Game 7 in the history of the NBA.
Whose record did he break? Cleveland fans may know this one.
Paolo Banchero had 24 points in the first half vs. the Cavs, passing LeBron James (2006) for the most points scored in a Game 7 by a player age 21 or younger in NBA history 🔥 pic.twitter.com/H5x3qqhbF3
That's right—Cavaliers forward LeBron James scored 21 points in Game 7 of the 2006 Eastern Conference semifinals against the Detroit Pistons, which the Pistons won by the very '06 score of 79-61.
Cleveland rallied from a big first-half deficit to take the lead against the Magic, but Orlando fans will have Banchero's heroics win or lose.
